Let Johnson Do His Job

June 19, 2001

Back in March, when the Palm Beach County School Board made Art Johnson superintendent of schools, it gave him chief executive powers, explicitly and implicitly. Thus, as the highest-ranking employee of the district, part of his job is to make decisions involving personnel under his command.

It's a responsibility that should not be abused, but neither should it be micromanaged by the School Board. While Johnson should be held accountable for any personnel decisions that violate anti-discrimination laws or policies, or for any decisions that turn out badly, routine decisions should be his to make without interference.

Last week it was announced that Johnson would recommend to the board the reassignment of 20 school principals. Already the planned moves are running into opposition from some parents and teachers, who say they are baffled by some of them, especially those involving popular principals Diana Harris of Boca Raton High School and Amelia Ostrosky of the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach.

Baffled is one thing, and there's nothing wrong with seeking explanations, up to a point. There's also nothing wrong with Johnson's refusing to provide them, if that's his preference. Personnel decisions are sensitive, and the reasons behind them generally should remain private. There's certainly no indication that either Harris or Ostrosky has done anything wrong or been anything less than professional. Indeed, it could simply be that their talents are needed elsewhere.

But some parents are pressuring the board to reverse Johnson's decisions. Members should resist the pressure. The superintendent, like any other executive, should be given wide latitude to place subordinates where he feels they can best serve the organization.

One of modern education's most intractable problems is the indifference of many parents to what goes on in the schools, and to what their children are or are not learning. Parental involvement in the schools is a good thing. Parental meddling is not. Demanding a voice in personnel decisions, except under very unusual circumstances, is meddling.

Thus, while the School Board should be prepared to assess the wisdom of the moves sometime down the road, once a track record has been established, it should not prejudge them. The board should ratify the reassignments and reassert its confidence in Johnson.

Anything less would be tantamount to tying his hands behind his back, and that's a recipe for failure.